Embattled donor released from civil suit

Published 6:00 pm, Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Embattled Democratic donor Mauricio Celis has been released from a lawsuit against his law firm brought by a former client trying to recoup legal fees.

Celis, a prolific donor to state and national Democratic candidates, is the subject of several legal challenges based on allegations that he practiced law without a license.

In one lawsuit, Paloma Steele is seeking to recoup legal fees she said she was owed from a case in which Celis' firm represented her. Celis was dropped as a defendant in the case Wednesday. His firm, CGT Law Group, and three of his partners remain defendants.

"This proves what we've been saying all along," said Lawrence Coffey, Celis' attorney in the case. "At the end of this politically motivated witch hunt, there's nothing there. By dropping this lawsuit, (attorney) Thomas J. Henry has gone a long way toward showing that his entire line of attack against Mr. Celis has ultimately no basis in reason or in the law."

Henry, who represents Steele, said the motion "had nothing to do with the claim against Celis and CGT."

"This was simply a legal move that knocked down Mr. Celis' roadblock, which was an attempt to prevent Ms. Steele from taking deposition of all of his witnesses," Henry said.

The motion allows proceedings in the civil case to continue while Celis deals with his criminal case, Henry said.

Steele can choose to bring Celis back into the case later, but Henry would not say if they intended to do so.

Two of Celis' partners were ordered to give their depositions within 30 days. Henry said he plans to depose Celis.

A Nueces County grand jury also has indicted Celis on four charges, including perjury, theft, falsely holding himself out as a lawyer and impersonating a police officer.

Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott also has sued Celis, accusing him of practicing law without a license. The Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee also has sued Celis and CGT, claiming the firm improperly shared legal fees.

In a separate motion, attorneys for Celis on Wednesday asked that belongings seized from his office during a raid by state and county investigators earlier this month be returned.